Senegalese midfielder Sadio Mane was dropped for Southampton’s game against Norwich City on Saturday for what his manager, Ronald Koeman described as “unacceptable” behaviour.
The Dutch manager said in his pre-match interview, he dropped Mane because missing a pre-match meeting was “unacceptable”.
The Senegalese midfielder started the game against Norwich on the substitutes’ bench, and only came on as a substitute for the final 10 minutes of the game they lost 1 – 0.
“Sadio was one of the 11 players to start but we have rules. In our last meeting two hours before the game he came late. That is impossible. Everybody knows we have a sanction, you don’t start,” said Koeman.
“You have to respect your team-mates, the fans and the club because they pay good money for the players,” added the Dutch manager, who was clearly frustrated by the midfielder’s time keeping. Pointing out that this was not the first time that he was late for pre-match meetings.
“To change the line-up two hours before the game, it’s unacceptable.
“It’s the second time, it happened one time last year when he was late at the stadium and today he was late for the meeting,
“I cannot understand that these kind of mistakes can happen.”
Koeman also raised concerns about the Senegal International’s lack of focus, saying:
“My message to him days ago was that he wasn’t really focused. It was Thursday’s training.”
Mane has been real a revelation for the South Coast club since signing for them back in 2014 from Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg for £10m, as he becomes one of the Premier League’s most dangerous players with his mixture of pace, good footwork and direct approach.
His prowesses last season saw him break Robbie Fowler’s record for the fastest Premier league hatricks, scoring the three goals in 176 seconds against Aston Villa. He finished that season on a high, scoring 10 goals in 19 games .
He started this season on a brilliant form scoring 3 goals with 6 assists and his overall play this term has been nothing short of being terrific, which has prompted him to be linked with a move to Manchester United and Chelsea.
He was alo shortlist for the BBC African Footballer of the Year last month which was collected by Manchester City midfield linchpin, Yaya Toure but some believe Mane deserves it more.
